1. Technical Filed of the Invention
The present invention relates to a motor vehicle door lock, more particularly to an electric side door lock of a motor vehicle body. Further present invention relates a process for installing a motor vehicle electric door lock.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A motor vehicle door lock in the form of an electric lock has long been known as disclosed in DE 195 45 722 A1.
In accordance with the present invention it should be considered that in terminology a xe2x80x9cmotor vehicle door lockxe2x80x9d is defined particularly as side door locks of motor vehicle bodies, but may also include door locks for rear doors or rear hatches, for sliding doors and hoods, to the extent they are provided with an electric motorized opening aid. The expression motor vehicle door lock or the expression electric lock is used below representatively for the different types of door locks.
Further, in accordance with the present invention the key collar is defined as a wedge-shaped clamp in a narrow sense, but may also include locking clips, locking clips with a transversely lying locking pin and free-standing locking pin, as well as all others types of counterpieces to the door lock on the opposing body component.
An inlet channel for the key collar is made in the housing of the motor vehicle door lock, often also in an additional mounting part which is located in the housing and which is generally called a catch bearing. The inlet channel is completed by the corresponding inlet slots in metal reinforcing plates on the front and/or back of the outside housing; they are often called the first and the second rear sheet.
Rotary latches and detent pawls are typical lock elements of one such motor vehicle door lock, the rotary latch currently being made mostly as a fork latch with a preliminary catch and a main catch. The rotary latch and the detent pawl include ordinary additional parts such as the detent pawl spring and the rotary latch springs, as are of course known from the prior art. Motor vehicle door locks are also known with simply one locking catch, which replaces the rotary latch and the detent pawl, and these motor vehicle door locks also lie within the framework of this invention.
The blocking elements, bearing bolts for the blocking elements and the rear sheets generally consist of metal in order to be able to accommodate and deflect the tearing forces which occur in practice, especially in an accident. The outside housing, other mounting components and the catch bearing of a motor vehicle door lock currently consist mostly of plastic, often fiber-reinforced plastic. To some extent also metal inserts and metal parts are also used.
An electric lock is characterized by a minimum number of installation parts because the sole control function is lifting the detent pawl off the rotary latch. All other functions which are accomplished in mechanical door locks by lever arrangements are replaced in an electric lock by switching functions of the electronic circuit or the software by which the drive motor is triggered or not triggered.
The known electric lock disclosed in DE 195 45 722 A1 shows an outside housing which is essentially closed on all sides and which is made as a plastic molding. It is disclosed there that the outside housing according to one preferred development is made essentially symmetrical to its center plane which lies in or parallel to the plane of the rotary latch and detent pawl and consists of two half shells which are made of plastic, are provided on the outside with metallic reinforcing plates, and are connected to one another. This outside housing is made elongated and plate-like and on the two flat sides parallel to the center plane is provided in the half facing the lengthwise end with an inlet slot, the two inlet slots jointly forming the through inlet channel. The inlet channel with the inlet slots on the two flat sides of the outside housing is the catch bearing of the key collar.
The above explained construction of the known electric lock allows easy installation for both left-hand entry and right-hand entry of the key collar or also for middle entry of the key collar for example on a rear door or rear hatch. The flat and slender contour of the outside housing is also suited for limited installation space.
The above noted electric lock is disclosed on the one hand as a pure electric lock, in which redundancy is achieved by electrical means, for example by an extra battery or other additional power supply as disclosed in EP 0 589 158 A1, but can also be additionally equipped with auxiliary mechanical actuation of the detent pawl via Bowden cables. Reference should be made to these publications for the various possibilities of the configuration of auxiliary mechanical actuation.
In accordance with the present invention there is no auxiliary mechanical actuation; it is intended to be primarily a pure electric lock with optionally electrically implemented redundancy. In any case an auxiliary mechanical actuation accomplished as in the prior art is not entirely precluded, in particular does not contradict the implementation of the present invention.
The above noted motor vehicle door lock underlying the invention must be turned several times in installation. There are no details on the installation of this electric lock in this prior publication.
Furthermore, a motor vehicle door lock which is, made with an outside housing which is not fully closed, but has openings via which moisture can enter is known. This outside housing contains the rotary latch and the detent pawl as well as a plurality of levers of the lock mechanism. The outside housing bears the rotary latch and the detent pawl on one side of a center wall, held there by a rear sheet with, the lever of the lock mechanism on the other side of the center wall. Ultimately the outside housing is reduced to the peripheral edge of a plastic catch bearing.
A plastic housing cover in which the electrical conductors are injected is connected to the peripheral edge of the outside housing in the above noted motor vehicle door lock. The housing cover has a trough-shaped receiver open to the inside for the electrical drive unit which is closed and sealed by a closing plate. In the inside the closing plate bears the electrical drive motor and the step-down gearing. The driven element of the step-down gearing is made as a cam wheel and is located on the opposing side, thus the outside of the closing plate. This cam wheel projects into the lock mechanism at suitable locations as soon as the housing cover has been joined to the edge of the outside housing. The cam wheel is sealed by the closing plate by way of a rotary bushing so that the receiver of the electrical drive unit is extremely well protected against moisture.
The above explained motor vehicle door lock is not an electric lock, but a mechanical motor vehicle door lock provided with an electrical central interlock system. In fact, the electrical drive unit is best sealed against moisture by encapsulation of all components with an electrical function in a plastic housing cover.
In the above explained motor vehicle door lock the parts of the motor vehicle door lock must be repeatedly turned during installation. The outside housingxe2x80x94the plastic catch bearingxe2x80x94is equipped from one side with the locking elements, from the other side the levers of the lock mechanism are attached. Separately therefrom the housing cover is equipped with the pre-installed closing plate/drive unit module from one side. The housing cover is then connected in the opposite direction to the outside housing. In installation therefore repeated handling of the different parts of the motor vehicle door lock is necessary.
A object of the present invention is to optimize the known electric lock while maintaining the three-dimensionally effective configuration of the outside housing with respect to installation.
The aforementioned object is achieved by an electric lock where installation from one side is also possible, therefore rotation of the workpiece during installation is not necessary.
The teaching of the invention can also be used when the electric lock is supposed be provided with auxiliary mechanical actuation. It can also be integrated into the invention in terms of the installation direction.
The invention is detailed below using drawings which show only one embodiment.